Engineering the Future
by The Shaved Wookie
Summary: The story of the intelligent John Shepard, with a slightly different backstory, along with a few character introductions planned earlier than in the canon trilogy. The future may be bright, but who will be around to experience it? Entire trilogy planned, but regular updates are a no go! Cover by aQuarianfetishist (Deviantart)
1. Chapter 1

John Shepard was incredibly nervous. As if a normal commencement ceremony wasn't enough, being the first ever human graduate from the esteemed Mirat University in the capital of Sur'kesh definitely made it a nerve-racking experience. He glanced around the mostly salarian class, a blue body popping up here. _Well, at least I'm not the only one nervous._ To most, the salarian would appear perfectly fine, but after spending three years surrounded by them, John could see right through Maelon's calm mask.

Before Shepard could start a conversation, the esteemed speaker began reciting his speech to the crowd. Looking around the crowd, it wasn't difficult to find the only other humans at the ceremony; Hannah and William Shepard, along with his little sister Tara who met his gaze and waved a small hand, were both apparently paying more attention to the speaker than himself. Both were dressed in their formal Alliance wear. He couldn't blame their attention, though; Dr. Solus was an extremely quick speaker, and you really had to pay attention to pick up every word he said.

That is... unless you had hyperthymesia paired with an already exceptional IQ. John Shepard was genetically blessed with the rare condition, and it had manifested as a near perfect memory at an early age. As a young child on Mindoir, he flew through the educational system provided, often requiring little to no repetition to fully grasp a topic. After graduating from the University of Southern Mindoir with honors -in engineering- at the ripe age of 12, he became the first human accepted to Mirat University on Sur'kesh. After nearly four years of extensive research, today he was one of the very few in his class being inducted directly as tier IV scientists. Only the top students received this honor, and the majority of the class fell in the level II or III range, while the future salarian lab assistants woefully received their tier I rank.

Shepard brought his attention from the crowds back to the speaker._ Something seems wrong... there's not a sound..._ him and every graduating student on stage silently turned to stare at him...a uncomfortable emotionless stare, and he instinctively looked away, back to the crowd. The hairs on his neck stood up when he realized every person in the stage had the same stare, all directed at him. Even his family had the strange appearance on their countenances. He turned back to look to the people near him, but no words came out, no air moving around his throat. _What the hell is goi- _**BEEP!**

* * *

John Shepard bolted up from his bed, covered in sweat, before grumpily swatting at the holo terminal, signaling the alarm to cease and desist its annoying beeping. _Holy shit that was a weird dream. Speaking of Maelon, I haven't spoken to him in a few months._ He kept wondering why his mind had tried to distort one of the proudest days of his life all the way to the shower, still coming blank as to any interpretations. Thankfully, it was right before sunrise on Mindoir. By the time he'd showered, and had his mother's homemade breakfast, the memory was one of the last things on his mind.

By the time Shepard had driven his car to the Kassa Fabrication R&D site, he was already thinking back to his latest project. Kassa Fabrication was a recent start-up human weapons manufacturer and research corporation. Shepard had made an rather risky gamble, taking an extremely high paying contract- on the condition 33% of his pay was redirected towards company stock. Shepard was confident now, after being on the job for over a year, he finally made his mark. He had already dubbed his first creation the 'Arc Pistol', though its had very few analogues with normal pistols on the market. The new technology instead ionized the air along a pathway, allowing a high-ampere electric shock to disable shields and synthetic enemies alike. Although limited in range, he was confident it would be an invaluable weapon in the right hands. _It'll probably be more of a private sector weapon, though. Can't see this thing on the front lines._

He opened the door to his lab, a lab only he and a few of the leaders of the corporation would have access to; Shepard wasn't surprised by seeing his boss looking over his work, but more so the female clad in an ornate suit.

"Mr. Johnson?" The said director of Shepard's department whirled around, while the woman clad in an envirosuit much more reluctantly took her eyes away from the research terminal. _Where the hell did he find a quarian?_ Shepard had read that quarians were excellent engineers, and lived on a flotilla of over fifty thousand ships, and they had to live in those suits for most of their lives. Although Shepard wasn't racist, he really hadn't expected to meet one on a human colony.

The older engineer made a motion towards the quarian. "This, John, is your new partner. She's been here for the past hour reviewing the new pistol schematics." Before Shepard could even get a word in, the director continued. "I wouldn't be assigning her to your if I didn't think she would be of assistance."

Shepard smirked. "No it's not that Johnson, but how did you come across a quarian on Mindoir? I don't think I've ever met one in person." _Those suits are probably better than anything the Alliance has. _The clunky envirosuits currently utilized for extended human expenditures looked far less comfortable. Thankfully, he wasn't a part of the armor department.

The quarian woman scoffed, but the director answered, ignoring his rude question. "She scored highest on every single aptitude test on this batch of applicants, and even managed to beat two of your scores." He finished with a smirk.

Now _that_ impressed Shepard. The director finished and headed towards the exit. "I've got to head back to work, keep me posted." Shepard nodded, then looked at the alien woman in discussion. "Doctor John Shepard." He introduced, and the quarian cordially shook his hand. _Their hands are_ p_retty small actually, no need without all the fingers. _

"Dr. Shep-"

Shepard quickly raised a hand, interjecting. "Please, just call me John." Chuckling, he continued. "I'm sure you're probably older than me anyway."

She crossed her arms for a moment, then replied. "Very well. Daro'Xen nar Tonbay, but Daro is fine." The quarian glanced over at the terminal containing a floating schematic, then at Shepard. "I've had quite enough of listening to that imbecile." _Whoa, wait. What? _"Your 'director' " Her interesting accent putting a negative emphasis on the man "could not answer a single one of my questions."

He raised an eyebrow at her remark, but he couldn't disagree that his boss was far less intelligent on technical matters than he'd hoped, and instead replied. "Yeah. What do you want to know?"

Without any hesitation, she coolly responded. "Everything."

John Shepard learned quite a valuable lesson that day. If you ever have to give a technical rundown to a quarian, be prepared to answer questions pertaining to every single iota of engineering and technical specifications. Thankfully, Daro was as intelligent as proclaimed, and seemed to understand the unique design. To his great satisfaction, she quickly began working on the power source, the one area he had been repetitively failing to improve, which gave him the excuse to focus on any other part of the design. _I guess work just got a lot more interesting._

The suits were obviously more than just a regular envirosuit. _I wonder how much it'd cost to get one to the armor department... obviously one that's not in use. _Like any man of his age, his eyes lowered towards her hips and rear as she stood at a workbench. Besides their developed technology, they also had one other asset he couldn't quickly averted his eyes, but couldn't help but be impressed. _Nothing on the extranet said their females had hips like that._


	2. Chapter 2

**With clear disdain and exasperation**: I am terribly sorry for all my readers who want faster updates, but I can't guarantee the speed of publication. I am committed to finishing this work, and hope you enjoy! R &R if you feel so inclined :D

P.S. I triple checked for grammar errors, but every writer knows how they manage to pop up seemingly of their own accord!

EDIT (minor):I saw a few typinng/transitional mistakes I had to get rid of, and now time to start chapter 3!

**Seven months earlier**

"You know" Shepard began, breaking the usual morning silence plaguing the lab. "I read that quarians were one of the most social species, but you've barely spoken a word since you got here. Are you uncomfortable being the only one of your species on the colony?" She had only been a part of the project for two weeks, and already had been improving the power source. However, she seemed even less socially adept than him, which was quite a statement.

Although the extranet was limited with current social interactions, articles written before the exile specifically stated how emotional the species was. Much like the asari, volus, and elcor, the quarian people had removed the institute of full-scale war among their species prior to spaceflight. The hanar were surprisingly aggressive, but after contacting other species, their Church of the Enkindlers finally managed to establish peace; a similar case was with the salarians. No race was perfect, but krogans, vorcha, batarians, drell, and turians were seen as more aggressive species, and he had no doubt humans would have been included in the list if they were known nearly five hundred years ago. Three thousand six hundred and twenty seven pages of social and biological information on all those species. And he remembered every single damn page.

Daro glanced over at him immediately, her head tilted in the slightest amount. _It'd be foolish to assume that means confusion._ "No, this planet has been better to me than the Citadel ever was." Something about her posture seemed off, though her voice was unchanged.

"Was the Citadel really that bad towards your kind?" Shepard asked cautiously. "I've never been out of Alliance space, myself."

The woman scoffed lightly, responding. "They treat us like thieves and beggars." With a slightly angrier tone, she continued. "Few individuals hire quarians outside of ship maintenance, and even then we get paid less for our labor."

"How is that legal?" He inquired, genuinely surprised at her change in inflection.

Daro answered, her voice back to normal. "Most pilgrims won't have another chance to find a job, so they don't report the discrepancy."

John quickly turned his head to her, a tinge of anger presenting itself in his voice. "Is Kassa paying you under-the-table? I can go talk to the director if you want." She again tilted her head slightly, which allowed him to conclude its meaning. "Sorry, under-the-table means working in a non-official matter, so they can pay you whatever you want."

"No, I'm being paid fairly by this company." Daro replied. The lab remained silent after that for a moment, John nodding at her words and went back to working. Quietly though, he heard the slightly metallic voice add. "But, thank you for your concern."

Shepard picked up the firing chamber of a prototype pistol, walking over and taking a seat next to the woman's workbench. After placing it on the bench, he inquired. "I've read a lot about quarians, how your vision is sharper than many species and the best engineers in the galaxy likely inhabit the fleet. Why don't you take a break and tell me a little about your people?

Although unseen by Shepard, a small smile formed on the woman's countenance and she put down her work. "Very well, what do you wish to know?"

Chucking, Shepard replied. "Anything, really. The quarian people have been pretty insulated since the formation of the fleet. Uh, no pun intended."

The seeds of a new friendship were sowed as they worked together, Shepard learning more from the conversation itself than the words themselves.

* * *

**A couple weeks later**

The sound of the slap resounded throughout the small laboratory. Loud enough that anyone inside would not have been able to ignore it; thankfully, their team hadn't increased in size. Furthermore, as they were the last two out of the building, it was entirely devoid of onlookers. John Shepard was quite nonplussed, and managed to retain his temperament. Daro'Xen's eyes were narrowed into slits, a pissed off quarian if one were to hazard a guess. Her voice accentuated the point, coming out in nearly a growl. "I cannot believe you would even suggest such a thing!"

Shepard could already consider Daro a friend, likely due to the fact they spoke nearly all day while working. It was refreshing to work on the pistol without the overbearing silence as it used to be. Already he had learned a lot about her culture, the fleet, and even a few conversations about geth technology. Today, however, a simple question could not have been taken in a worse way.

Although he felt the strong urge to verbally lash out at the irate quarian, he was more flustered at her reaction. He raised his voice, but it gradually decreased as he spoke. "You just said over half your damn salary goes into living expenses, and taking your rent out of the equation would minimize that."

Daro seemed unfazed at his rebuttal, and returned. "And? You think I'm going to sleep with you just to save some money?"

At this, Shepard raised his hands defensively, allowing his confusion to snake itself into his voice. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop a small chuckle from escaping at her words, which seemed to anger her even more. "Who said anything about sleeping with me? I said there's a guest bedroom, and it really hasn't been used in a long time. It's just wasting space right now."

She stared at him, the glowing slits of her eyes slowly returning to their original size, and she softly replied. "Keelah John, I'm...I'm sorry for hitting you." He hadn't known the woman for long, and alien body language was still a difficult thing for him to recognize, but even he could tell she was unaccustomed to making mistakes. Just like himself.

"Keelah?" He questioned, never having heard a quarian word without translation.

Daro answered still with the unusually reserved voice, concerning him. "It directly translates to 'by the homeworld', but is used as more of an exclamation of surprise." Shepard nodded, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he thought best how to phrase his next question.

"You learn something new every day." He responded with a smile, then took a step closer to her, somewhat startling the female. "Listen Daro, when I offered you a place to live, I meant just that. I wasn't trying to insinuate any sexual relations between us. I guess there's a difference in cultures, because humans share living quarters on certain occasions in a completely platonic fashion." She shifted her feet nervously, seemingly unsure how to respond, and he continued. "Don't worry about it, though. My parents were fine with it when I pitched the idea, but if you wouldn't be comfortable with it then there's no reason to relocate."

Xen sighed, finally breaking eye contact for a moment. "Shepard, I truly appreciate your offer, and I wish I could accept, but I have little to give in return. It would be a waste of resources towards your clan's living space."

_Yeah, definitely thieves and beggars. Sometimes I wonder how people could say things about an entire race without even getting to know one._ He closed the short distance between them and put a hand on her shoulder. Quarian women were generally taller than their male counterparts, and the study he had read described it as the likely catalyst for a matriarchal society. However, even though Daro was nearly six feet tall, Shepard's tall frame still stood a head taller than her.

Still gently grasping her left shoulder, he gently countered. "On the fleet, you'd be right. To live with us you'd have to make yourself useful, or everyone would suffer. The difference is here we have more than we need to survive, and it would be more wasteful to have an unused resource when a friend could greatly benefit from it."

Daro silently stared at his eyes for an inordinately long moment, causing the human's mind to race. _Maybe she's never had a friend from another race? Actually, I bet that's exactly it. _He was surprised that he could note the changing expressions just by her silver eyes and an outline of her extremely humanoid nose. Realizing himself, he hastily removed his arm from her shoulder with a muffled 'sorry'.

"Okay..." She said quietly, though he wasn't sure if it was more for herself than for him. In a more normal voice, still tinted with gratitude, she continued. "If you're sure... I would greatly appreciate it." Daro looked up at him, and he was sure there was a smile hidden under the smokey visor. After a moment she continued. "I will go get my things and message you when I arrive."

As the quarian walked away, Shepard couldn't help but feel inextricably strange at his behavior. On Sur'Kesh, he ostracized himself from social contact simply because that's how he preferred it. Yet here after a couple of weeks, he was inviting a friend to live with them. Not only did he believe it was truly the right thing, but he was looking forward to the company. Daro had been an excellent conversational partner at work. As she neared the exit, his eyes moved on their own accord, tracing her hourglass figure, the small of her back, and down her waist. He admired her shapely legs, ending at a very alien pair of feet, before his retinas ended on her posterior. The same shapely rear he had caught himself staring at during her brief tenure at Kassa. He chucked to himself as she left, and finished putting away his materials. _Who knew an alien woman's... assets could be so distracting._

* * *

**Current Time**

_I don't think they'd ever let a quarian into a chess tournament. The unbeatable poker face would be a clear advantage. _Shepard inwardly sighed as he finally decided to sacrifice a pawn for the sake of stalling her offensive. More often than not, he would defeat her at the game. Today, however, his mind was elsewhere, and his poor strategy was brought to light quickly. With little hesitation, a bishop came and swept away his pawn, leaving Shepard's queen in an exposed position. Daro had only been playing chess for a few short months, and she already seemed to have a tactical grasp reserved for veterans of the game; it was usually not enough to defeat John's bright mind. Her quick and effective grasp of a the game was no surprise, though, considering he had seen first-hand how intelligent she was. He tried another move which would likely end in the death of another pawn, and hoped she didn't see the counter. The quarian quickly took the sacrificial lamb, and continued her offensive on the chessboard.

When Daro had joined in Shepard's development of the Arc pistol, (although privy to admitting it in conversation) he had been at a plateau. Unable to increase the power level, he had been stalling for time by increasing the efficiency of its unique thermal clip. The addition of an individual of his caliber of intelligence with a completely different technological background had been the reason for their success. He had estimated that it would take at least another year for the invention to hit the shelves, but with her addition it had barely taken seven months to complete. Obviously, their director was enthused, but the two had another reason to celebrate. Shepard and her were substantially wealthier now due to the success of the Arc Pistol on the market. One of their final breakthroughs was a system to alter the large ampere burst with minimal effect and weight increase. The original optimal power level which would tear through shields and could be fatal at close enough ranges was now complimented by a weaker setting which could take down an individual non-lethally even through light armor. Released to the public only a few weeks ago, it had been well-received by corporate security firms, likely a few shell companies intermediating for mercenary groups, and even the human Alliance had made a small official purchase. Shepard tried his luck, and sent his queen out to take her bishop.

The general usefulness of the weapon soon caused it to gravitate out of solely Alliance space, expedited greatly by the population of the colony. Apparently, Mindoir had more metallurgic resources than the humans would be able to process in a reasonable time, and the Alliance had contracted a few non-human corporations to assist. This had created an interesting environment on the 'human colony', of which humans only were two thirds of the population. It had mostly been an influx of turians, but eventually, a sizable number of asari, salarian, and even a single elcor company had started mining the uninhabitable wastes of Mindoir. Although a win-win situation financially for both, it still created a slightly inflated housing and food market due to the influx of workers, while opposing chirality prevented large scale dextro local food production. Unfortunately, Daro's mind was not preoccupied, and she easily saw through his ruse. His queen was quickly removed from the battlefield. He tried to hide his king behind the paltry sum of units he had left, but it was to no avail. In a few more moves, Shepard's king was trapped.

The both of them currently had the living room to themselves, and Daro could see something was wrong. Leaning back on her favorite recliner, she crossed her legs and questioned. "That was not even a challenge, John. That move was available to set up for the past two rotations." Shepard scratched the back of his neck, eyes still focused on the chessboard. The quarian continued in a more serious, but not cold tone, finally getting his visual attention. "Tell me John, what has you distracted?" Shepard sighed as he stood, walking over to the large window. Her curious glowing eyes followed the human as he relocated.

In the past six months, Daro had become the closest friend he had ever had. Although salarians were a social species, their emotional differences had kept him from having a true best friend throughout most of his education on Sur'Kesh. Earlier while in the human educational system, Shepard was much younger than everyone else; he would more often than not keep to himself, absorbed in his studies. Inside though, he had been lonely, though he hadn't realized it until she came into his life. Now John had come to rely on her, a crutch against the mentally demanding job they both had; even if he tried, he had never been able to hide his emotions from the inquisitive female. Conversing with a quarian was only slightly different than with humans, with very similar mannerisms. The only big difference he had noticed, and it had definitely brought them closer as friends, as the lack of trepidation her species had about discussing their emotions. Humans would likely be embarrassed to clearly put out their feelings, especially to the opposite gender. With her though, the words flowed like water, and he often felt better simply by chatting with her. John was sure, though, she valued their friendship as much as he. Daro had made that abundantly clear on his birthday just a couple of months ago.

_John was sitting on the couch while his sister sat in the kitchen, both on their omnitools. She was enjoying a ridiculous new movie about a hanar spectre, while Shepard was merely surfing tech blogs for an interesting conversation. His dad was outside working on the farm equipment, while his mom was likely at her Alliance office. Although his father still limped slightly from his injuries during his service, he had never allowed it to stop him from doing the job he loved. He had already received a few gifts from his parents, the main one being a brand new Katana shotgun. Although a basic model, it still was a military grade weapon, and he wasn't sure what strings his parents had pulled to get one in his possession. John was disappointed, though, since their alien guest hadn't arrived from work yet. Usually Daro just rode back with him, but today she had said she needed to finish something, giving no hints to the mystery._

_As if the suited woman had read his thoughts, the door opened revealing the quarian in question. He smiled as she hadn't knocked, a habit she ended quickly after her beginning trepidation at 'intruding' on a human living space._

"_Hey Daro!" Squeaked Tara from the kitchen, though her mind was more focused on the amusing elcor arguing with the hanar. Miss Xen responded in kind, and instead of taking her usual spot on one of the recliners, she sat on the seat right beside him on the sofa._

_Shepard couldn't stop the smile from his face at her arrival, but it quickly was replaced with a concerned look as he noticed her nervousness. It wasn't really with her facial expressions, but the inconspicuous movements of her fingers and the slight foot tapping revealed her anxiety. "What's up Daro?" He questioned as casually as possible._

"_I know that today is your 'birth day', and I wish to offer my congratulations on your blessed day of creation." Her diction always was more advanced than most casual conversations, but even then he could hear the honest happiness behind her words. There was a tinge of apprehension, and he quickly noticed she seemed to only get nervous when she was being entirely honest. It was vulnerability. Before he could thank her, she continued. "I read that humans give gifts to commemorate this day, especially the year you become an adult." Daro's eyes expanded slightly, an expression he had finally mastered, a smile. She reached into one of her waist's suit pockets and pulled out a small, what appeared to be polished steel band and handed it to him. _

_The band had the same pattern as Daro's realk, her veil, though without the coloring. Shepard took the proffered band, surprised by its light weight. He saw a strange set of symbols, but Daro's accented voice broke his thoughts and refocused his vision towards her. "It is what quarians call a hij'zan, the band of clan harmony. It signifies the bond between two different clans, showing the only thing that separates them are name and blood."_

"_It's beautiful." He said sincerely, then turned his attention to the inside of the band. Unknowingly, his countenance turned into a slight frown as he attempted to read the symbols."I'm assuming this is Khelish, but I don't have a clue what it says."_

_Her timorous demeanor appeared to increase due to what looked like a displeased reaction, and she crossed her legs nervously as she replied. "It says 'may peace and joy always find those who freely give to another." She looked as if she was going to say more, but was silenced when he stood up and offered his hand. Daro took his hand, and was subsequently gently pulled from the couch. Before she could even exclaim her surprise, she found herself in a warm embrace._

"_Thank you, Daro. This is wonderful, and I know I'll always treasure it." Although he had embraced the quarian on a few rare occasions to celebrate an innovation or traversed past a technological plateau, neither side let go as they normally did after a short moment. "He leaned by where her auditory sensors where located, and whispered. "For what it's worth, you've been a part of our 'clan' since the day you walked in that door." He leaned back, and her smile was obvious as he gazed at her visor. She looked as though she would retort, but an entirely too inquisitive voice called from the back door._

"_Oh ho ho, what have we here?" His father's voice accompanied a shit-eating grin as he walked towards the two. They quickly separated from their embrace. His dad's limp was more pronounced after working out on the fields, but his mind was as sharp as ever. His eyes widened as he saw the band in his son's hand, and likely could make out the pattern on it. Shepard's father continued as he saw a red tint appearing on John's cheeks. His words came out with the same jocularity as his preliminary statement, but this time it was focused on his alien acquaintance. "So, what's this, did ya propose to my boy or something?" He ended with a chuckle; the elder Shepard had the satisfaction of seeing his son's face redden immensely, but the quarian answered._

"_What!? No, it's not about a mating contract, but sometimes that's how they.. what I meant to say is it isn't about...it's to show companionship... Keelah not like that!" She stopped herself as her words belittled what she was trying to say, Shepard's father's grin making her defense increasingly difficult. Thankfully, the younger Shepard came to her aid._

"_Oh don't mind him, he's just being an ass." His dad scoffed at the indignation, but listened attentively as Shepard explained. "It's like a family heirloom, dad. You give one to a friend that may as well be family." He managed to get it onto his wrist, its resting place every morning for a long while to come; it opened at the bottom to allow a snug fit on his wrist _

"_Yeah, I bet that's exactly what you were thinking when I walked in." He deadpanned. "Well, I'm going to hit the sack pretty soon, that damn tractor's guidance system still can't keep the thing in a straight line."_

"_Alright, well goodnight dad." John said, then turned back to the quarian. "Want to see how much juice I can get out of my new shotgun?"_

_As he expected, her eyes brightened at the thought of tinkering with a weapon. "Sure! But if you try to put exploding rounds again..." She poked a finger at his chest in mock indignation._

_He sighed, gesturing her to follow him. "Seriously? That was like two months ago, and you have to admit, a shotgun with that kind of raw power..." Their voices trailed off as they walked to the basement where all of his personal tools were located. The forgotten elder Shepard chuckled, wondering if his son truly was that oblivious to the writing on the wall._

* * *

John's thoughts were interrupted as he remembered Daro was still waiting on a response. He looked back at her, those glowing orbs waiting patiently for his answer, though she was now standing. "I think when all this is over, when we're done with the second version of the pistol and..." He paused, and his voice became noticeably quieter." when... you go home... I think I'm going to join the Alliance."


	3. Chapter 3

**When I wrote the outline on this chapter, it sounded as exciting as a two hour physics lecture by Ben Stein. I think it flows smoothly now, though I still felt iffy. Regardless, please R&R! I'd like to know your opinions, and I hope this chapter is to your liking :D**

**P.S. The story gets better, so if you don't like this chapter don't be too dismissive, yet!**

**P.S.S. I know how long this took, and I'm sorry. I can't promise speedy chapters, but I'll try to do better. This once a month thing is no bueno!**

They currently were in a modified turian freighter which had been in storage at one of the colony's many smaller spaceports. Much like the quarian ships on the flotilla, this ship was outdated, being over a hundred years old. However, turian engineers made surprisingly robust space craft. When Daro had purchased the shuttle under the company's name, with their consent, of course, the two had spent over a month upgrading it in their spare time. The cargo bay was largely unmodified, but the thrusters were relatively new and very efficient, and very expensive. By far the most challenging aspect of renovating the freighter had been upgrading the armor, though with two brilliant minds, it was more of time constraints than actual difficulties. Unlike Shepard, who had been accumulating stock along with his salary, Daro had sold back all of her investments. It was unlikely she would be able to return to the colony after her pilgrimage, and she had far better uses for the money now. In the freighter were two thousand five hundred of the Arc Pistols, and along with the freighter itself and nearly a hundred thousand credits, would make a truly outstanding pilgrimage gift. Currently, it was on autopilot back towards the Shepard residence to drop him off. He didn't have to come with her for the long process of having the spacecraft inspected for integrity and any illegal modifications, the cargo loaded and inspected, and then the waiting period for cleared airspace; the fact he volunteered just so she would be more comfortable made Daro yet again truly grateful she had met him.

The ride from the spaceport had been an unusually silent one. The trip would last little over an hour, but so far had felt much longer. Most of the time, as the autopilot on their Shepard's personal shuttle would take them to work or from, the two would have been conversing about their project, their experiences as youths, or even Shepard's random comparisons between quarian anatomy and Earth's reptiles. Even though more often than not their discussions would gravitate towards less serious topics, Daro still treasured them as much as she would any scientific knowledge. She had always been antisocial, which was frowned upon in quarian culture, and had maintained this demeanor throughout her pilgrimage. Until recently, well, among certain individuals.

"It's not like I'm dying John." Daro broke the silence in a slightly humorous tone. The silence had been making uncomfortable, especially if this was to be their last conversations for a long while.

Shepard, who had been engrossed in his omnitool up to this point, met her gaze as a small smile creased upon his face. "Yeah, I know." His response was not what she was expecting, and she made her opinion known as her arms crossed across her chest, eyes slightly narrowing. "Okay okay, fine." John had quickly learned that it was nearly impossible to hide emotions from the woman across from him, but he had been getting better at it. The last 'I'm a quarian' speech was long ago, and he had no desire to provoke her ire. "You're leaving, my sister's going to a boarding school on Elysium pretty soon, and I'll be in basic training in a month. It just seems like everything has passed by so fast. I guess that's just part of me wishing time would slow down for a bit."

Daro couldn't help but return his smile. A large part of her wished the same thing, wished she could delay her pilgrimage for a while longer... However, her duty to the fleet was overriding, such as most quarians. It simply wasn't an option. "Still, once you are completed with your training, you could be the first human to step foot aboard the fleet." _Admiral Zorah would have a fit, perhaps Admiral Gerrel as well, but at least the others care more about progress than technical racial supremacy._

The human in reference chuckled, and Daro was glad she could at least brighten his spirits. After a moment's paused he nervously inquired. "Do you really think they'd let me on board? Especially if you're going to be doing research on the geth?"

Xen crossed her legs, allowing herself to ponder the situation for a second before retorting. "I fully expect them to be apprehensive, but you must understand. In the years after the Morning war, few outsiders have offered us any assistance. We have had to grow to not easily trust outsiders, unfortunately." She again briefly paused, as if to carefully consider her next words. "But humans have not been around long enough for the fleet to gain an opinion either way, so perhaps it would be a good opportunity to present a good image for your race."

Shepard heard her slightly metallic words clear as day, but her tone of inflection and body language spoke volumes of her true opinion. "Daro, you don't have to convince me to go. I already told you I'd come visit." He watched as she shuffled her legs, switching the crossed leg, and confirming his suspicion. He briefly chuckled as he yet again thought how he could read an alien female clad entirely in a suit easier than any human woman he'd met. "Besides, a whole ship of exotic women in skintight suits? That's really not a tough sell." John added with jocularity, attempting to lighten the mood.

_Of course he would be focused on that. I don't think I'll ever meet a quarian male as outspoken as John. _She thought with a surprising twinge of depression. A barely audible 'hmph' was her emotionally hidden answer, accompanied by the crossing of her arms and a glance away. He was surprised a swat or kick didn't accompany it, the usual reaction to his more aberrant retorts. "I think you'll find the other females will be less forgiving than I if they catch you staring at their posterior, regardless of your argument." It was a rather drawn out discussion so many months ago, but she still didn't believe it was an instinctual dilemma that caused human males to have difficulties keeping their eyes off... sensitive areas, regardless of sexual preferences. "And if you even think about touching anything your corrupted mind focuses on... " She spoke in an admonishing tone. "You may find yourself missing a few vital... appendages, especially if it's a bonded female near her mate." Although she knew he likely knew better, she had read that human males were one of the more assertive and aggressive male species, only surpassed by krogan and batarians.

Shepard seemed less than amused. "Hey, I'm not that stupid, it's not like there's anywhere to hide or escape in a ship, a ship right in the middle of a fifty thousand strong flotilla, might I add!" He chuckled, recalling a somewhat relevant memory. " Trust me, I can imagine how that would play out." _Apparently quarians are much stronger than people give them credit for. The same goes for turians... though. Dextro proteins must be pretty efficient._

Daro chuckled again, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she replied. "Yes, perhaps even you are capable of learning."

John quietly harrumphed. "Damn abusive quarians." A swat to his knee was her retort, and even though it was not a powerful swing, feigned grievous injury.

Xen smirked at his pathetic but humorous display, and with absolutely no sympathy, smugly retorted. "You fully deserved your punishment, bosh'tet."

* * *

_The project was nearly nearing completion, though he was sure there would be a second model released. He was casually working on the power source with Daro. More often than not they would work separately, but the other sections of the pistol design would need major overhauls to improve their efficiency. So, instead of said overhauls, they were prepping the first model for release, and what it desperately needed was as much power, without sacrificing the 'clip' size, as possible._

_Shepard was sitting on the floor, Indian style, as he often did when he was thinking more than working. Chairs hurt his back if he sat too long, and unlike his quarian friend, he found it more beneficial to sit while thinking instead of standing. He glanced over at the alien in question, chuckling lightly at the memory of her confusion at his strange sitting style. Today she had actually attempted to recreate his favorite sitting position, with little success. Apparently, quarian legs were unable to comfortably recreate the sitting style, and he had spent the next few minutes making fun of how her bent legs looked. A swift kick in the shin by her said legs had quieted him, and she had proceeded to gloat at how 'poorly designed' his straighter and thinner legs were. Arguments like this were common between the two, though Daro only resorted to whacking him only after a particularly lecherous or insensitive comment._

_After a while, a sufficient allotment to quell the pain in his legs, he returned to his chair by the bench as she stood beside him. Shepard normally faced slightly away from her, allowing them both a little privacy as they used the tools. Shepard began the meticulous process of disassembling said power supply, which required a surprisingly varied amount of customized tools . He placed the rest of pistol on the table, but as he reached over to grab a tool, his elbow inadvertently knocked over the power source; as a testament to the pistol's weight saving design, the small thumb-sized cube with prongs hardly made a sound as it connected with the floor, bouncing to a halt near a three toed foot._

_Shepard turned towards the pistol, and was met with an unexpected sight. For whatever reason, Daro was nearer to him than before - slightly bent over, and facing away from him - attempting to recalibrate a specific unit for testing. Although her figure was somewhat distracting, the monotonous and personally boring work on the power source was making it a welcome visual diversion. His pistol forgotten, he stared for a moment, wondering how much her species actually resembled his own. Her hips were wider than a humans, leaving a noticeable gap between her legs. Much like her legs, her butt was also larger, and undoubtedly more powerful than a human womans. This information meant little to him at the moment, though he realized he'd been staring at her rear for quite a long moment longer than intended; she still seemed oblivious as she worked, and his childish mind decided on the perfect revenge._

_Shepard reached out and carefully retrieved the small power source, knowing any accidental contact would ruin his ploy. Raising the omnitool over the device, he reduced the power setting to a level that wouldn't cause any real damage, just a painful jolt. Daro had unknowingly hatched the plan into his mind, as one of her previous discussions with him revealed her suit's ability to redirect large doses of electrical energy to protect from a major suit shutdown. However, there were simple ways to bypass said defenses, such as lowering the voltage below a certain threshold. John activated the small device, and carefully poked her left thigh with the prongs, knowing the suit was also not in danger of being punctured. He heard a loud cross between a gasp and a scream, and had an infinitesimally small moment to think about the oddity of the sound before a 'funny looking' knee hit him in the side of the face. Then, everything was black._

_He blinked open his eyes, and was able to see a black tinted visor staring down at him, her luminous eyes clearly worried. "Are you okay?" Daro spoke quickly and with a tinge of fear. "Keelah you're bleeding, what happened? Let me call a medic." She only made it a few steps before he burst out laughing. The quarian spun on her toes, tilting her head slightly in confusion. The gesture only served to increase his laughter, and he found himself unable to respond as her hands rested on her hips, eyes narrowing. "What in the hell is so funny?" Her version of the human curse word had an extra syllable, and he found himself tearing up as his chest continued to heave with laughter._

_When Shepard's vision cleared, and his ability to enunciate words clearly returned, he was still met with the same two glowing eyes. She seemed far less amused than he. With a mischievous grin, he sat up and simply held up one hand, the hand containing the still active power supply. He had the satisfaction of watching her eyes slowly narrow, realizing what had just occurred._

"_You!" She snarled angrily, lifting her arm containing her omnitool. Before he had time to react, a large electrical surge pulsed out of her tool, striking him. He yelled out in pain, and the quarian ended the program within moments of activation, but the pain lingered. "It's not as funny now, is it bosh'tet." She mocked at the human, who was temporarily unable to lift himself._

_The quarian insult was closely translated to the English 'degenerate', though slightly more rude in nature. John heard the term often, as he found it incredibly amusing to prank her, therefore became the recipient of said insult frequently. Unfortunately, the quarian had quickly learned how to counter his pranks, and had gotten him back on more than one occasion. He shuddered remembering the twenty millipedes under his cover, though where or how she acquired them was still a mystery. One evening, after staying up late working on the project, he returned casually to his room, too tired to even turn on the light as he plopped unto the bed. This startled all of the said millipedes, and although he had crushed a few of them, both dead and living millipedes began or had already released a foul and irritating liquid. Sprinting away from his bed and towards the bathroom, he was met with a certain suited woman standing near the sink, eyes closed and loudly laughing as she clutched her side. Her omnitool had a clear video feed of his room with a light sensitive camera allowing clear vision even in the relative darkness._

_When Shepard got to his feet finally, and was met with an all-too-smug looking Daro, arms crossed, though she looked more amused than angry at this point. He felt as if he was approaching another laughing fit just because of that, but managed to simply sport a grin._

"_That hurt like hell Daro." He said, chucking to hide away the slight pain. His whole body still felt strange, but whatever shock she had administered at least seemed far from causing permanent damage. It was definitely more potent than the one he had administered. Thankfully, whatever bleeding had occurred seemed to have stopped on its own._

"_I can make it far worse, trust me." She replied with no sympathy, her eyes hinting at a smirk underneath her mask. As Shepard finally lifted himself, she continued. "Perhaps next time you will think before allowing your degenerate mind to wander."_

_He laughed again, and crossed his arms as well. "Naw... but do you want to know something?" The quarian did not verbally retort, but merely leaned back on her leg, waiting for his response. His legs were still wobbly from the electroshock treatment, but he did his best to appear unaffected._

"_It was totally worth it." He quipped with a cocky grin._

_The second shock treatment questioned his judgment on the matter. A slightly metallic laugh resonated in the background._

* * *

"I never knew quarians could move so fast." Shepard retorted, shacking himself slightly from the recollection of the event. "Plus, I'm pretty sure you were the one cackling like a mad woman afterwards."

The alien female huffed her disapproval. "You should have known to never frighten a quarian about their suit integrity." She allowed a grin to grace her lavender lips. "You know I still have that program." Daro slyly motioned to her left arm containing the omnitool.

Shepard waved his hand dismissively. "Threats Daro? Why must you stoop so low?" He mocked.

She 'hmph-ed' her disapproval and, jokingly, condescendingly remarked. "You're quite lucky I already knew you were a lewd ape, John. Regardless of your intentions, you should have known better, but apparently not." Her terminology brought another memory to the forefront of his mind. Although it had been many months, it still was one of the few subjects that seemed to fluster her.

"Speaking of us 'lewd apes' " Shepard stated in a conspiratorial tone. Daro had an all to content smile shown by her eyes, but it Shepard was an expert at turning the tables around in their conversations. "At least I wasn't caught on the Fornax website, on our family's extranet connection of all places. And right next to my room!" He chuckled loudly as she fumed. "Imagine if my parents would have seen you." It was difficult to look at a person the same way once you've caught them … masturbating. Plus, it had proven to him that his first confrontation with her was no hoax. Quarians were extremely fast runners.

She angrily refuted his interjection. "I've told you multiple times, you bosh'tet, it was strictly for educational purposes! Unlike you, I have control over those aspects of my life. As all species, quarians feel the need to find a release from stress after a sufficient time. It had nothing to do with sexual orientation." Daro was clearly displeased, and glared at him. "Besides, that isn't just your room, all of the research equipment is down stairs as well." It had little effect on his smirk. _I should have bugged that bosh'tets room and linked it directly to an extranet stream._

"Sure it was Daro. Sure it was." Shepard's grin never left his face, further angering the quarian passenger. "It really doesn't matter, it was obvious you weren't using the work bench for... research."

"Stop talking about this." Xen's voice sounded quite angry. Though this would have discouraged the young Shepard when they first met, he was used to it by now.

He chuckled, but was keenly aware of her right hand moving closer to her omnitool. He decided to be more tactful with his approach, though he decided he'd never get another chance at this interesting topic."Don't get so fussy, all of like to look at porn sometimes, regardless of species. Most of us aren't fortunate enough to have an entire suit for artificial stimulation in that situation, however." Before she had time to respond, he continued in a sly tone. "I never knew you had such a fetish for 'hairy microbial-infested primates', though." He finger quoted one of her previous retorts. "Is that the real reason why you came to the colony?" He was really enjoying getting a rile out of the woman, possibly for the last time in a long while.

_That insufferable fool! _"Why do you keep bringing this up? This is not a topic quarians discuss openly." Daro growled disapprovingly.

Shepard leaned back in an over exaggerated manner, still smiling like a buffoon. "It's not everyday you catch a woman watching that kind of material. At least among humans, it's definitely a male dominated market."

"Fine. Whatever." She responded forcefully. To her great satisfaction, silence once again descended upon the small shuttle.

Although John liked to tease the woman excessively, even he could tell she was starting to get genuinely upset. "It's not like I haven't tried finding real quarian porn." John chuckled at how quickly her head turned back to him; her expression – what little he could determine at least- quickly transitioned from disinterested to outright shock. "Unsuccessfully, might I add."

"You looked for quarian... but why?" Xen exclaimed with bewilderment. Whether at the actual revelation, or his seemingly nonchalant way of exclaiming so she was unsure.

Shepard shrugged his shoulders, unabashed at revealing such personal information, and stared out the shuttle view port as he replied. "It's only instinct for certain species to find certain body types attractive, which makes a small amount of xenophily actually natural. From what I can tell, I'm pretty sure both of our races would be compatible, both emotionally and physically. I'm no xenobiologist, though."

"So..." Daro said in a cautious but inquiring tone of voice, still surprised at what he was saying. Few races found quarians attractive due to their immunodeficiency, though before the suits many asari had taken quarian lovers, usually of the male gender. "Are you admitting you have a quarian fetish?" _Perhaps that would explain his fascination with the tightness of our suits._

Shepard chuckled, realizing how he had set himself up. A smile appeared shortly after, though it hid no humor as his previous ones had. "You're a beautiful woman, Daro, and the closest friend I've ever had. You have a body that a human woman would kill for. You've got an hourglass figure, toned legs and a great posterior, all of which are a real turn on for most human males. Plus, your translator gives your voice in the English language a very soothing accent, unlike some of the grating voices we have down at the lab." His false smile dropped suddenly, and he stared at the area next to her. _What the hell am I telling her... she didn't even bring herself up._

_Keelah..._ Her suit felt as though it had tightened around her, and she confirmed with her visor's interface that her body temperature had risen slightly. A few images from the... educational video she had been caught viewing came to mind, but she quickly forced them out. _Did he just say what I think he said? _Rarely was the astute quarian at a loss for words, but what he just said surely would have given any woman a pause. After what seemed like a small eternity, she softly – almost cautiously- questioned. "John, just what are you trying to say?"

The conversation was cut short as a loud boom caused the duo to jump from their seats. Both frantically rushed to the cockpit. The shuttle shook violently, slamming them both into a wall. Then a sound came through, a sound all human colonists had been trained to fear since they were toddlers, the sound of klaxon blaring loudly. Installed every few miles, and hardwired to prevent hacking, the incredibly loud speakers were an abhorrent creation during testing runs, but now it was clear why so many tests were required. Being an Alliance colony meant nothing to pirates, slavers, and mercenaries. They were being attacked.

"What the hell was that?" Daro yelled over the klaxon as they both rushed to the freighter's cockpit.

In a calm voice that surprised himself, he gently answered. "It means the outer defenses have been breached. Something is invading the planet." The quarian nodded her understanding. However, as soon as they activated the sensors, both of their heartbeats increased rapidly, and a few small beads of sweat formed on Shepard's forehead. There, on the ship's sensors, were over five hundred unique ship signatures were entering the planets atmosphere, and a few obscure, but larger signatures, were staying in orbit.

"Keelah." Daro said breathlessly as the shuttle shook once again from a shock wave. "I thought this colony was under Alliance protection?" A few resonating booms followed her question. She opened her omnitool, accessing the shuttle's front camera to view what was occuring. They were over a two miles away from the Shepard residence. Still, even from this distance, the sky was visibly crowded with cruisers and drop ships. To both of their horror, what they assumed were battleships were firing their bombardment cannons into various spaceports, undoubtedly killing anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby. Interestingly, none of the boarding craft were landing directly in the residential center, but instead headed directly towards the Alliance base on planet, a long ways from the main population center.

"Holy shit." Shepard whispered. Immediately, his shock was replaced with a terrible pang of anxiety. His parents and sister were currently at home, having already said their goodbyes to what amounted to their quarian family member. He still remembered his father's face, her military training barely able to hide her disdain. His sister and mother were far less stoic, and it had broken his heart to hear her Tara crying as the duo left the household. Quickly, he attempted to formulate a plan, removing the sad thought from his mind. "We're only about an hour away from town. This freighter's new armor is sturdy enough to take a few rounds, so we should be fine if we get out ASAP. It looks like they're taking out the armed resistance first, so we should have enough time to get out before they notice." His voice was laden with desperation, and his heart kept sinking as the ships showed no signs of relenting their assault.

Daro nodded in response, her widened eyes refusing to leave the view port. She needed no explanation to whom or where they were headed, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't scared. Xen stared at the screen for over a minute before she realized Shepard wasn't in the cockpit anymore. She exited, and was surprised to see her human friend tapping his foot frantically with hands on his head, facing the back wall, staring at nothing. She understood clearly why he was in this state, anyone would be in fear if their family was at risk. However, she had realized long ago why he would joke so much, or why he made so much of an effort to keep their conversations full of jest. Xen had not been joking when she had elaborated on the biological affinity quarians had for reading body and facial language, and it applied to members of other species. He was an extremely emotionally guarded individual, and to see him completely vulnerable was something she hadn't seen. Daro quickly strode the short distance across the extremely small general quarters, gently placing a three fingered hand upon his shoulder. "We'll be there soon, John."

Shepard turned, reaching with his opposite hand, gently removing her hand from his shoulder while retaining it in his grasp. He gave it a light squeeze, and gave her a weak smile, and sat down. Daro sat beside him, and no more words were spoken as the shuttle sped as quickly as possible towards the Shepard residence. Suddenly, Daro noticed something extremely peculiar. "John, look!" She exclaimed loudly, interrupting the human's thoughts.

Shepard glanced down at her omnitool, and watched as many of the craft were rapidly evacuating the scene. In fact, most of the spacecraft had never even landed, instead seemingly guarding the few boarding parties. However, every single craft was speeding away from the area, all headed either back into space or towards the Alliance base. This made little sense if they were slavers, and pirates weren't known for subterfuge or political machinations.

There are moments in a person's life where events occur which words cannot describe. When you don't really feel alive nor dead, but an echo of what you were mere seconds before. They both watched as the entire residential residential district of the Alliance colony of Mindoir exploded, bombardments from space obliterating any last building left standing. This wasn't a raid, this was cold blooded murder. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost in moments, all but one of the Shepard household included. He cried into Daro's shoulder, while the quarian held him tightly in an embrace, tears freely flowing from her eyes as well.


End file.
